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Stuff from Johannesburg

City of Johannesburg Secures Court Order

Yesterday, in the Gauteng Division of the High Court, Johannesburg, before His Lordship Justice Wilson, an order by agreement was granted in the matter between Goldenrod Group (Pty) Ltd and the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality under case number 111519-2026. This order represents a decisive affirmation of the City’s authority to enforce its building regulations and fire safety requirements, and of our firm commitment to the safety of every person who lives in, works in, or visits our city.

In terms of the order, Goldenrod Group is interdicted and restrained from continuing any installation of units or related activities, and from permitting the occupation or use of any structure identified as non-compliant with applicable building regulations and fire safety requirements. Within seventy two hours, all structures identified by the City as non-compliant with approved building plans will be cordoned off and sealed, and the applicant is required to secure the property with adequate fencing, clear and visible warning signage, and measures to prevent unauthorised access.

The order further compels the immediate removal of all structures encroaching upon municipal property, public pavements, and road reserves. On the critical question of fire safety, the applicant is required, within seventy-two hours of a notice of non-compliance delivered by the City, to remedy all fire safety non-compliances identified by the City in writing, including means of egress, emergency exits, fire detection and protection systems, emergency lighting, and evacuation procedures and plans, and to provide the City with written proof of such compliance.

The City retains the right to conduct inspections upon expiry of the compliance period and to verify compliance with both the order and applicable legislation. Should the applicant fail to comply, the City is entitled to take lawful enforcement steps, including obtaining an appropriate order for demolition, with the removal or cordoning off of unlawful structures to be undertaken at the applicant’s cost and expense. The non-compliant portions of the property will remain sealed, with no use or occupation permitted, pending the removal of all illegal structures, full compliance with the order, and the approval of building plans and regulatory requirements. The parties have further agreed to engage in bona fide mediation within seven days, should this be required.

Significantly, the applicant has been ordered to pay the City’s costs of the urgent application on Scale B, including counsel’s costs.

No developer, no landowner, and no business stands above the law in Johannesburg. Buildings that do not comply with approved plans and fire safety requirements place lives at risk, and this City will not hesitate to act against them. This order demonstrates that when the City enforces its by-laws and building regulations, it does so lawfully, firmly, and in the interests of the residents we serve. The City will monitor compliance with this order closely and will not hesitate to return to court should it be breached.

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Ponte City: Transformation

As the “white flight” of the 1980s and 90s drained the inner city of capital, Ponte City underwent a dramatic and terrifying transformation. By the late 1990s, the building had become a “vertical slum” and a symbol of urban decay. It was famously “hijacked” by gangs; the retail levels were stripped, and the building became a fortress for drug dealing and human trafficking. The most haunting image from this era was the central core. Originally designed to be a light-filled courtyard, it became a literal trash heap. Residents on the upper floors would throw their refuse into the center of the building rather than taking it down. At its worst point, the trash in the core reached five stories high—a mountain of rotting debris, discarded furniture, and even, legend has it, the remains of those who had fallen or jumped.

During this period, the reputation of Ponte was so toxic that there was a serious proposal in 1998 to turn the entire skyscraper into a vertical prison. The plan was eventually scrapped, but the building remained a “no-go zone” for nearly a decade. The turnaround began in the mid-2000s when developers New Metro Property Group and later Dlala Nje began a massive, painstaking refurbishment. They cleared out the tons of trash from the core, restored the lifts (which had often been out of order, forcing residents to climb 50 flights of stairs), and implemented strict security protocols.